Saturday, April 30, 2011

Royal Wedding: Best and Worst Dressed!

With each passing moment, we see newer photographs coming in of the royal wedding, and I can't help commenting about them :) Honestly I was not so excited about this wedding till Friday. But the wacky hats inspired me to write a post and now I am back with another one!

 I guess that by now we have seen so many pictures that I actually might not even have too many readers for this post. Nevertheless being a risk analyst by profession, I tend to analyse everything and hence decided to give my result :)
Key Trends
Dressy Frocks, 
Pale Colors, 
Wacky Hats, 
Classy Stiletoes, 
Simple Jewelery

Typically, these would cover almost all the royal guests. Isn't it so different from our Big Fat Indian Weddings (they don't even have to be royal :)) where we typically see heavy sarees, bright colors, overbearing jewelery, ornamental sandals. Neverthess, they are absolute fun! Now coming back to the main subject.

The Best

Zara Philips
The grooms cousin looks chic and elegant in her fitted silver Paul Costello outfit and makes a bold statement with her classy Philip Treacy hat, super-long leopard print clutch and Mary Jane heels. Her make-up is simple and elegant. I think she's looking gorgeous!



Lady Frederick Windsor
I think I am biased here because of the awesome hat again. Though she is wearing a rather conservative outfit in the form of a navy blue checked suit, her glowing skin and the interesting hat makes her stand out. She looks royal indeed.

The Only Full Length Picture I saw! We can see the Jimmy Choo shoes here!


Tara Palmer-Tomkinson
The English socialite, television presenter, columnist and model wore cobalt head to toe, with her body hugging Deborah Milner dress matching her Philip Treacy hat, gloves, shoes and clutch.


Joss Stone
I know what she is wearing is not exactly fantastic, but I simply like because it's adding some color to the entire amongst amongst the pale outfit. 

The singer goes for a bright red, spring appropriate dress from High Street store Hobbs. She has nicely matched her outfit with  red peep-toes and a red clutch. The ornamental hat brings about the 'sober' color aspect.




Samantha Cameron

Prime Minister David Cameron's wife hit the Abbey in Burberry's aqua ruched short-sleeve dress. She chicly eschewed the fascinator craze, opting instead for a whimsical hairpiece and matching necklace by Erickson Beamon for Erdem. In a nod to High Street, Samantha finished her look with nude sandals from Aldo.

She has been criticized for not wearing a hat as stipulated, but that doesn't stop her from looking gorgeous.



Princess Letizia



The Princess of Spain stepped out in a blush monochrome look. Letizia wore and elegant sheer-and-lace dress with floral embroidery accessorized with matching satin pumps and a netted-feathered hat.



 The Worst

Chelsy Davy
Being Prince Harry's girlfriend people thought she was under pressure to look elegant and royal. But she did not seem to really care. She arrived in a blue Alberta Ferreti skirt, but looked like she had forgotten to set her alarm right and did not have enough time to complete the hairdo


Frances Osborne
The wife of the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, wore a rather ordinary and casual grey dress. The not so tidy hair and the funny feather cap did not do any good either.

So who will you vote for hot and not?

Also read my take on the Royal Hats the guests wore in the Royal Wedding here.


Pictures from eonline.com and other internet sources

Friday, April 29, 2011

Royal Wedding, Royal Hats!

Everyone's going crazy about the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton! Since no fashion blog is complete without covering the wedding of the century, it is highly likely that we would end up looking at the same pictures over and over. However, we may have different stories to tell!

When I was going through the live updates of the wedding in office, along with thoroughly enjoying looking at the lovely dresses the VIP guests were wearing I was also thinking how they could bring about novelty in almost every single thing they were donning including the hats! Let's take a look here.

The Sailor Hat
Left: Victoria Beckham in a Philip Treacy Hat
Right: Guy Ritchi with a Friend in Something Similar but with a Rose

The Bushy and Flowery Hats
Left: The Bushy Hat (House of Commons Speaker John Bercow & Sally Bercow)
Right: The Flowery Hat (MiriamGonzalez with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg)


The Boat Hats 

Left: Tara Palmer-Tomkinson in a Boat Hat
(The English socialite, television presenter, columnist and model was also the face of Walkers Crisps, replacing Victoria Beckham)

Right: Princess Eugenie in a Boat Hat with Princess Beatrice. 
Some said it looked like a bird nest..

The Big Bow Hat
 Princess Beatrice in a Philip Treacy Hat. The Bow Hat is the Talk of the Critics everywhere!!


The Traditional Hats 
 Left: Earl Charles Spencer (Princess Diana's Brother) & Karen Gordon (his Fiancée)
Right: Crown Princess Victoria & Prince Daniel of Sweden


Prince and Princess Michael of Kent


My Absolute Favorite..
The Classy and Fabulous Hat :  Lady Frederick Windsor

Princess Mathilde of Belgium in  another Philip Treacy hat. Don't they look similar!

The Horny Hat :  Princess Letizia

The Rosy Hats
Clockwise from Left Corner: The Queen, 
Autumn Kelly,
Sophie (Countess of Essex with Princess Anne) 

Mary Chantal of Greece

The Ornamental Hats
Earl's Girls

Zara Philip, Groom's Cousin in a Philip Treacy Hat

The Christmas Hat :  Not a Royal Guest, But What a Hat!
So which is your favorite?

Also see my verdict on the best and worst dressed guest at the Royal Wedding here.
And by the way, if you wanna know a little bit about who Philip Treacy is, read my post here.


Pictures from eonline.com and other internet sources

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Time for a 'Shorts' Break

Pictures Compiled from the Internet
 There are very few things I like about summers, and one of them happens to be 'SHORTS'! Watermelon is another one :)


Come summers, come shorts! A girls wardrobe is incomplete without some cute/ sexy shorts. In fact the other day I felt so overdressed during my visit to Select City since almost everyone was in shorts and poor me in traditional jeans :(

These days, there are plenty to chose from. You can go for denim shorts, cotton shorts, hot pants, leather shorts, patterned shorts and even velvet shorts! Honestly I have not dared to venture into anything besides the first three and denim shorts are my favorites! I have one from Forever 21. If you're planning to buy a few pairs, here's what to do.
Where to buy Shorts from?

1. Old pair of Jeans
You don't need to spend money here. In case you've got bored of your jeans, you don't have to throw them away! You can create a brand new item of them by simply cutting the legs!! I have done it since college and I just love 'em.

2. Street Shopping
Just drop in at any of the popular street shopping ventures be it Sarojini, GK M Block or Janpath, you will find fabulous stuff for great prices. Trendy, cute, colorful shorts for just Rs 200!! In case you're a starter, you might wanna start from here. But take a sample along as you wouldn't get a trial room there!

3. Mall Shopping
I can't think of any brand that doesn't sell shorts in summers! Walk into any store and you would find loads of shorts lying around. However, in case you just wanna see what's available I have compiled some pictures from place where I have bought shorts from and loved them!  I will do some OOTDs in those some time. For now take a look at pictures from the calalogues.

And the funny thing is that though they are all shorts at they end of the day, they still have been given different names!! Take a look at those too!

Shorts from United Colors of Benetton
 Pictures Compiled from Benetton Lookbook (Spring Summer 2011) 

Shorts from Zara
 Here's more from Zara! I love beige shorts, perfect for summers.
Pictures Compiled from http://www.zara.com/ 
Shorts from Forever 21


 Pictures Compiled from http://www.zara.com/

So, which ones do you like and where do you buy your shorts from?

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

As I Turn Another Year Older...I do my First OOTD :)

Yes, it's that day of the year when I don't mind the tons of messages and phone calls waking me up early in the morning before my usual schedule.. In fact that is the best thing about birthdays, we get to catch up with friends and relatives who we usually forget to even say a 'hi' to because of our busy and complex life!

Sometimes I find it funny that even our special days are so predictable and routine. Like I came back from office last night and  quickly checked inside the fridge to make sure that he had not forgotten the cake :). Of course he hadn't. And he actually surprised me with a special gift :).

These were my first thoughts on turning 29, first I must change the 'About Me' section in my blog where I said I was a 28 year old risk professional..and second, it's definitely time to start using some anti-ageing products :).

An ideal birthday would have been spending the day in a spa, pampering myself and then going out for dinner in a sexy outfit to some place really nice. But alas, ideal things rarely happen and so here I am, going to my usual workplace but in a new outfit, and the dinner plan is still on! And here's the new outfit..


I thought I must do something different since it's my special day, so I decided to come up my first OOTD.
The picture's quite hazy and posy, but next time will be better :). Waiting to get a tripod.

This is a dress that I had bought from Van Heusen Women. But winter was on then and it got lost in my cupboard. I finally took it out! I have written about it in my earlier post here.

Tell me what you think.


Tuesday, April 26, 2011

$ 2500 for a Shoe? Of course It's Jimmy Choo!!! Look Who's Wearing Them

Ever browsed through Jimmy Choo's website? I just did, with the intention of browsing only of course :) Wanted to see what those $ 1000 luxury shoes and accessories looked like in detail! Then found this one from their 'Cruse 11' range! This may not be the most expensive shoe on the site, but definitely one of them!

Each product on the site has a unique name which is something I found quite interesting. This one's called 'Ciara' and costs €1995 or $ 2500 or Rs 1,13,000! Here's more..

CIARA
Inspired by vintage jewellery from the 1920s, Ciara summarises all that Project Crystal is: rich, luxurious and timeless, but at the same time, cool, modern and relevant. This bold design is a masterpiece of Plexiglas engineering.
Heel Height: 135mm/5.3"
Soft Suede Sandal with Crystal Deco Anklet





I thought..I think twice even before buying a pair of shoes worth Rs 2500, and there are those lucky ones splurging $ 2500! So who are they?? Of course mostly Hollywood starts.. Here, let's take a a look.

Celebrities Wearing Jimmy Choo Shoes

Jeniffer Lopez Wearing Something Very Similar at the launch of the BlackBerry playbook and her new album, "LOVE?". Love the shoes and what abs!!


Courtney Cox visitng  "Good Morning America" in April this year wearing brown clog Jimmy Choo United sandals.


Courtney Cox again.. Visiting the "Late Show with David Letterman" in New York City wearing Volume Suede Sandal from Jimmy Choo.
I like her dress!! It's a Roland Mouret "Helena" quarter sleeve stretch crepe dress.



Khloe Kadarshan in a waitress look with mutli-colored sandals by Jimmy Choo.
Khloe Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, and Kris Jenner are the cover stars for the May 2011 issue of Redbook.



Fergie on the red carpet wearing Jimmy Choo Glenys Elaphe snakeskin sandals which are gladiator inspired sandal with a zip front!
I wouldn't call this as one of my favorites!


Sarah Jessica Parker's character in Sex And The City was Jimmy Choos No1 fan.
She is wearing Jimmy Choo seven strapped silver patent sandals which are absolutely stunning!
So tell me what you think!
By the way tomorrow is my birthday and I am thinking of throwing some tantrums to my hubby dear, 'I want a pair from Jimmy Choo!'. Of course he wouldn't really do anything about it but in case you are wanna check them out here in India, here's where you can go.

Jimmy Choo Stores in India

The Galleria
The Trident
Nariman Point
Mumbai
400 021
Tel +91 22 3027 7070

Shop 144
Emporio Mall
Nelson Mandela Marg
New Delhi
India
Tel +91 11 4660 9069

No-17 Ground Floor
The Collection UB City
24, Vittal Mallya Road
Bangalore
560 001
Tel +91 80 41738404

Pictures from Google Images and Jimmy Choo Website

Sunday, April 24, 2011

In Love with Browns These Days: Peep-toes from Tresmode and My Chocolate Cake (with Recipe)

 I picked this pair of brown peep-toes from Tresmode over the weekend.  I followed the anonymous advise on my shoe tag post here and moved to 14 from unlucky 13 for the count of my shoes :)

I was looking for a formal pair of shoes and definitely something non-black. I liked this pair in Shopper's Stop. The dark brown color will go well with most of my bottoms. The fit was perfect and comfortable and being made up of pure leather, should not cause sweat issues in Delhi's bad summers.

Price: Rs 1690

About Tresmode: Tresmode is an Italian brand and has been in India in 2007 in the major cities. However I hadn't really noticed them anywhere. It was recently that I spotted them in Shopper's Stop and liked their designs and they fitted very well. I have also seen an exclusive outlet in Select City, Saket.

Chocolate Cake

Remember we played a game as kids where someone would speak a word and you have say what is the first thing that comes to your mind (without really thinking) when you hear that word. I am sure this game had a name but I can't recall. Anyway, if anyone would ever say 'Brown', the only thing I would say is 'Chocolate Cake'. I actually call this 'Mom's Cake'!

Mom's cake is something that I can never get tired of eating. It's a very light, fluffy and delicious chocolate cake with a nice rich flavor. And more importantly it is pretty simple to  make (Of course if I can bake one, anyone can :)). Here's the recipe.

Mom's Simple Chocolate Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Flour: 1.5 cup
Powdered Sugar: 1.25 cup
Cocoa Powder: 1/3rd cup
Soda Bicarbonate (Meetha Soda): 1.5 teaspoon
Salt: A pinch
Chocolate or Vanilla Essence: 1 tbsp
Chocolate Color: 1 cap
Refined Oil: 1/3rd cup
Milk: 1 cup with 2 tbsp of Vinegar
Eggs: 2

Method
Sieve flour, sugar, cocoa powder and soda.
Make a whole in the centre and add milk mixed with vinegar. Mix well.
Then add the essence (preferably chocolate but vanilla will also do) and color (this is not mandatory) followed by oil.
Finally break 2 eggs into the mixture and beat well (not for too long).
Then place the mixture in the convection mode in the microwave at 180 on the higher rack for 35 min.

Delicious cake ready, hope you like it!

A Mini Haul, Finally..

The truth is that I actually started shopping less ever since I started this blog about my shopping this February! As you can see, my first ever haul comes in the third month. I actually got down to blogging so that I could write about the things I randomly bought since the haul posts were always fun to read, not to mention sometimes they would induce some impatience and envy as well :)

So here's what I bought this weekend, nothing out of the world but the nail-care thing is quite interesting. I will  review a few of these in my later posts probably starting with the Seacret Nail Care. There's a very interesting story about how I ended up buying it.
 
Nail Care Collection from Seacret

 Summer Special
Lotus Sun Block (SPF 60), Biotique Cucumber Freshener, Himalaya Neem Foaming Face Wash

For the Stubborn Blackheads
Charcoal Nose Strip, Blackhead Remover, Garnier Blackhead Uprooting Scrub

Let me know if you have used any of these and how you like them!

Friday, April 22, 2011

Fashionable at Work: Accessories for Women

As promised, I am back with my fashionable accessories for work. Let's begin with an easy rule, ''Keep it simple, keep it sleek'. We cannot wear heavy accessories to the work place (I am not talking of the fashion or film industry here, they don't have any rules :)). So let's keep it simple, sleek and yet stylish.

For the Neck

I love my pearls when it comes to the neck. I have them in almost all the colors! They're always a part of my street shopping extravaganza. And they aren't expensive either. But if you have the money, you can splurge on the real ones too :).

Images from http://www.cjewelryfashion.com

Next to pearls, I like multi-layered and narrow hanging ones.

Images compiled from Various Sources on the Internet

The bottom two necklaces are from Accessorize (Rs 750)

Tip: One must chose the necklace depending on the kind of clothes you're wearing.

High Neck: Something that you can wear over the high-neck. Pearls go well here. Hanging pendants are not advisable. You can also go for something long here.
Deep/ Open Neck: Long pedants look great here. Make sure the necklace does not cover up all the open spaces here. 
Shirts: Something tightly hugging the neck or hanging pendants look great with shirts!

I actually found this from the net which is a good guide for necklaces for different necklines.

Images from the polyvore.com

For the Ears

Hoops are my all time favorite. They come in various shapes and designs. 
You can get platinum, gold or silver hoops. For starters you can try some imitations. They come for as less as Rs 20! I love my silver hoops. They come in the range of 150 to 500 depending upon the thickness. I usually pick them up from GK M block There are several silver shops in Connaught Place and Khan Market too.

Tip: Make sure you get the right size, if you have a small face, you should not buy a large hoop!

Images compiled from Various Sources on the Internet

I also like studs.In fact I like collecting silver studs in various colors matching my clothes.
Sterling silver is the best in this case, both in terms of price and design.

Images from http://www.cjewelryfashion.com


For the Feet
  • Black stilettos are something that every woman must have - working or non-working! But if you find it too difficult to carry those narrow heels, pump heels will rescue you. Even flat shoes are considered formal. 
  • Closed, peep-toes and even sandals are all formals. Depends on the type you buy!
  • Black and browns are the must have colors.


Tip: If you're wearing a pencil skirt or a business suit, closed stilettos/ pumps would look much more classier than flat sandals!

Images compiled from Various Sources on the Internet

For the Waist
Thin belts look the best with trousers.
Thin or broad both go well with dresses as well as long tops.

Images compiled from the Internet

I know there are more to a woman's accessories, bag, bracelet, watches and so on.. Would love to write about them as well, some other time!

You may also like: 
Fashionable at Work: Office Wear for Women
Things that are Unfashionable at Work